Behind the vine

Laura & Delia Fiori - Cantina Sorres - Sardinia, Italy

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

Our winery belonged to our grandfather, over 70 years ago. Our father took care of it, and we were always part of the winery, which was really a part of the family. About 20 years ago, our father replanted the vines, and friends of his used to say - What are you doing, your have two girls! - as if we couldn’t take it on. We knew there was opportunity in the vineyard and we decided to team up and make wine under the name Cantina Sorres (Sorres is sister in the Sardinian language). In 2013, we were the first female winemakers in our village and we wanted to represent ourselves with this name.

As sisters, we have different backgrounds. Laura studied economics, and did a masters in winemaking and business. I [Delia] studied communications and media and have been in the creative industry. We are very different, but that’s our strength. We knew we could give something to our territory by combining our skills and taking care of different parts of the business. Making wine is not just making wine, but giving people an experience and communicating more about where we're from, our philosophy.

What story does your wine tell?

It’s a mixture between what was in the past - the tradition given to us by our grandfather and father, but also the innovation we developed through our studies. We are a new generation. We are more aware of nature and how to preserve it, which is why we’re a boutique winery and we changed to using organic agriculture. We don’t do anything that would harm the plants, or us.

We decided to make wine that's the representation fo the territory we come from - the historical small region of Romangia in northwest Sardinia. We make our wine out of indigenous grapes - Cannonau is DOC of Sardinia, but depending on where you plant it has different characteristics. We make wines that show Cannonau’s distinctive characteristics - recognised as very smooth and elegant, even with a high alcohol percentage. When you drink our wines, you don't perceive the alcohol, you get the elegance.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

First: Wine needs to be low in alcohol in order to be easy to drink. That's not true. The percentage of alcohol doesn't tell you anything. For example, the percentage of our wines is high, but it doesn't mean it's a strong wine when you drink it. It all depends on how you make wine and craft it. If we cut our wine to have lower percentage, we wouldn’t get the same structure, and it wouldn’t be as enjoyable to drink.

Second: People should know that sulfur is not bad. Big amounts of it can be bad, but you need some in order to stabilise your wines, otherwise there would be too much variety, even in the same case. Our philosophy is that we work in the vineyard to protect and take care of the grapes, and that way, when you're bottling, that little bit of sulfur simply stabilises. Sulfites can be found in many other foods. Even Organic wines have sulfites, so that's not what is bad for you.

Third: Price. People say wine is expensive, but expensive in relation to what? If you make small quantities of wine, you are taking care of it from the beginning to the end, and that costs money. Price is reflective of the work that you do, the work put into the wine.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

Wine is something that you can share many things over: thoughts, stories, friendships. It gives you happiness and a great sense of community. With wine, you are more open to speak with people. That is our philosophy behind our experience in the vineyard. We create a small table in our vineyard and have people sit around it and taste. These people are strangers when they come, but when they sit at the table, after the first glass, they are all friends.

Also, you can travel the world by drinking wine from different places, and you don't need to move, which is very good at this time!

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

Just do it! Don’t get scared off by anybody, because you don't need to be a man or woman to make wine, you just need to have the passion to make it and do it.

Who is a woman that inspired you?

Donatella Cinelli Colombini who is the President of the Association of Women in Wine in Italy. She is so happy with what she is doing and she is an inspiration to both of us.

Where can women find your wine?

You can message us on Instagram to find your local options. In the UK, you can find us at Wanderlust Wines.